NC would end pistol permits under bill moving through House Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) Apr. 21—RALEIGH — A longtime North Carolina law requiring pistol purchase permits could be repealed under a new version of a bill that advanced through a House committee on Tuesday. The law requires buyers of handguns to obtain a permit from a local sheriff and undergo a background check. Rep. Jay Adams, a Hickory Republican and lead sponsor of the bill, called the law "obsolete" and said the emphasis should be on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Eddie Caldwell Jr., executive vice president and general counsel of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, said the group previously opposed the repeal but that "times have changed" as the national system has improved.